Rope access and rescue cover at a COMAH gas terminal

The job

The operator needed new cable runs installed along the pipe-racks and multi-tier gantries of a live liquefied gas terminal. It is a top-tier COMAH site, so every task ran under the site’s permit-to-work system, and every technician wore ATEX-rated flame-resistant, anti-static clothing (EN ISO 11612 and EN 1149-5).

The challenge

• The pipe-racks were congested and carried live process lines, so there was little room to work and nothing could be allowed to touch or load the pipework.
• MEWPs and scaffold were ruled out for the work areas.
• The site required the contractor to provide its own rescue team, able to recover a casualty from height without relying on outside services.

What we did

• Rigged rope systems from the existing steelwork with non-destructive anchors, leaving the structure exactly as we found it.
• Hauled and installed the cable runs across the gantries on rope, working level by level through the rack.
• Wrote a site-specific emergency rescue plan and kept a dedicated rescue team on standby, with pre-rigged mechanical advantage hauling systems and rescue winches ready at the work faces.
• Carried multi-gas detection throughout and kept radio contact with the site control room, in step with the permit-to-work system.

See our cable installation and rescue standby services.

The result

• Zero incidents and zero lost-time injuries.
• Working on rope instead of waiting for access equipment saved several days on the programme.
• Audit-ready paperwork handed over at the end: RAMS, the rescue plan and LOLER equipment records.